Yarnbombers give Llanelli a knitted seascape surprise

THE crafty seniors are back. The group who have been responsible for successfully and covertly decorating the town with knitted items for the last couple of years managed to do it all again but this time using the theme of ‘Under the Sea’.

Walking around Llanelli one will see the town come alive with a plethora of knitted marine life. Colourful jellyfish hang from the covered area of the market. Knitted birds sit in trees and shop windows around the town contain sea creatures including lobsters, fish, whales and an assortment of marine related items.

Armed with knitting needles the crafty seniors, a team of 22 people, have been tirelessly working for months, in their preparations to ‘yarn-bomb’ the town.

The Crafty Seniors are helping to add some warmth to Llanelli and hope that their efforts will help knit the community together.

Gaynor Churchill from the Crafty Seniors said:

“It’s not so much about the end product for us it’s about the company, the friendship and everything.”

The Crafty Seniors also work with the social prescribers who are attached to the local doctor’s surgery, who help elderly people to keep busy.

Speaking about the role the work plays in some people’s lives she said “Trying to include people and give them something to do is really important. Some of them don’t have a family to knit for so it gives them a purpose.

“We’re already on to our next project, which is going to be poppies. We put some up on the town council office last year on their railings but this year because it’s the 100th anniversary we plan on expanding that a little bit.”

Despite the positive feedback on the campaign, there has already been some vandalism to their art in Llanelli.

Gaynor said: “We put the knitwork up on Monday and by the Sunday some of it has been pulled down.

“It’s a bit disappointing, we got through most of last year with much less damage and it was much later on, which we expected, so yeah it’s a bit disappointing really.

“Despite this, the campaign shows how well the Llanelli community can pull together.

“Some of the wool is donated, and we do have some funding from Llanelli Ymlaen. We always say if you have any wool you don’t want to drop it off with us.”

If you want to get involved with the Crafty Seniors pop down from 2 till 4 at Llwynhendy Library every Monday and on Tuesday in the sheltered housing in the Close Llanfihangel in Dafen.